What is happening in Sudan?

Two years after conflict began in Sudan, 24.6 million people face acute hunger. Humanitarian aid can pull the country back from the abyss.

Last updated 11 April 2025

Two years since fighting began in Sudan, the country faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. 

Half of the country doesn’t have enough food, and millions of people don’t have the basics to survive. Relentless fighting has taken its toll on civilian infrastructure, meaning essential services like water and healthcare are out of reach for millions. 

• As of February 2025, fighting had spread across all 18 states
• 150,000 people have died
• 24.6 million people don't have enough food to eat
• 3.5 million children are malnourished. 

An unfolding food crisis in Sudan

Across the country, 30.4 million people need humanitarian assistance. A lack of safe access for humanitarian organisations is making delivery of aid difficult and has worsened food shortages, leading to a devastating food crisis.

Around 24.6 million people face acute hunger, with 10 areas of the country currently experiencing or projected to face famine, and another 17 at risk of famine, according to the IPC.

An estimated 3.5 million children under 5 and 1.2 million pregnant and breastfeeding women are acutely malnourished, which is an increase of over 22 per cent compared to the beginning of 2023, when the conflict began.

Fighting and displacement has forced farmers to miss planting seasons which, combined with already high food prices, has left many families without enough to eat in a country where 70 per cent of people rely on agriculture and livestock for survival.  

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Millions have been forced to flee their homes

According to UNHCR, almost 12.9 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes since the beginning of the conflict. Almost nine million people have been internally displaced within Sudan, while more than three million have sought safety outside the country, including in Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, Uganda, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. 

Internally displaced people are particularly vulnerable to the dire humanitarian issues facing people across Sudan: 97 per cent of internally displaced people in Sudan are in areas that face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.  

A heavier than usual rainy season in 2024 compounded problems, with around 12,000 homes reported destroyed and more than 44,000 people displaced by the heavy rains. 

Women and girls at high risk in Sudan

The conflict has had a “catastrophic” impact on women and girls, according to UN Women, with a two-fold increase in gender-based violence since the outbreak of hostilities. 

The agency reports that there has been a drastic increase in reports of sexual and gender-based violence and abuse, with many cases going unreported due to fear and stigma. 

Women and girls are also more greatly feel the impacts of food insecurity and lack of access to water and sanitation: at least 80 per cent of internally displaced women in Sudan are unable to get clean water. 

In addition, three quarters of school-age girls are currently out of education, which leaves them at increased risk of child marriage and female genital mutilation. 

The Danish Red Cross ran a project for over three years that was aimed at improving the wellbeing of women and girls as part of a broader programme supporting refugees and migrants in eastern Sudan, in a project made possible thanks to players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

While it started before the outbreak of the conflict, it has provided needs-based assistance and aimed to inform men and women on the dangers of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as other threats facing women and girls. 

How is the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement responding to the crisis in Sudan?

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) alongside other National Societies, have worked closely together in their response. 

The Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) has been active in all 18 states of Sudan since the first days of the crisis, with more than 12,000 volunteers playing a part. Its access and reach mean that it plays a key role in reaching people with the help they need across the country. Since the start of the conflict, SRCS has:

• Reached over 7.7 million people with humanitarian aid
• Distributed food and cash reaching 1.2 million people in Khartoum, Darfur and 11 other states of Sudan in partnership with the World Food Programme

Sadly, since the conflict in Sudan began, 21 staff and volunteers from SRCS have tragically lost their lives.

• Learn more about our work in Sudan

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been present in Sudan since 1978, supporting people affected by conflict in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

Working closely with SRCS since 2023, the ICRC has provided essential support, which has included:

• 42,917 people admitted to hospital, who received wound treatment or surgical operations
• Supporting 88 hospitals with emergency trauma supplies reaching 6,800 patients
• Ensuring supplies of clean water for nearly 2.2 million people
• Providing food support to more than 200,000 people, and essential items including soap and blankets to more than 100,000 people.

How is the British Red Cross helping in Sudan?

The British Red Cross is supporting the response in Sudan through our Disaster Fund and other specialist support, including cash assistance to support families experiencing severe levels of food insecurity.  

In Chad, the British Red Cross works closely with the Chad Red Cross, funding and collaborating on programmes within the country. Many of these programmes support people fleeing the conflict in Sudan, establishing humanitarian service points, providing access to clean drinking water, distributing food and hygiene supplies and providing cash assistance. 

In April 2023, a team of six British Red Cross psychosocial support volunteers accompanied the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Rapid Deployment Team to Cyprus to support people being repatriated from Sudan. 

In the UK, British Red Cross volunteers supported people as they arrived from Sudan, offering practical and psychosocial support. In total, 2,500 people were supported by British Red Cross volunteers both in Cyprus and airports in the UK.  

We also work with people across the UK through our refugee services. Our Restoring Family Links service has supported 1,431 people since the start of the conflict, including 1,259 people helped through the international family tracing service. 

In total, our services are supporting almost 3,000 people from Sudan, including refugees and asylum seekers who arrived before 15 April 2023. 

As always, we will continue to be there for people who need us for as long as we are needed.